| California Review | ||||||
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| Editor(s) | Cody Dunn | |||||
| Location | La Jolla, CA, U.S. | |||||
| Founded | 1982 | |||||
| Frequency | 2-3 times a quarter | |||||
| Circulation | 2,000–3,000 | |||||
| Format | Tabloid | |||||
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| Website: http://www.californiareview.net | ||||||
The California Review is an Independent Conservative college paper distributed primarily on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The publication is one of a handful of campus newspapers partially funded by the Associated Students of UCSD. The California Review was founded by Eric Clasen Young and Harry Crocker III on January 7, 1982.
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Eric Clasen Young, fresh from a semester at Dartmouth College where he had encountered The Dartmouth Review, was trying to put together a staff to create a conservative student paper at UCSD called California Review. Quick to join was Elizabeth "E.T." Sullivan, a Guardian staff writer (who transferred to the University of Washington after the first issue). Eric teamed up with Harry Crocker III to form the brain trust of the new organization. Shortly thereafter Harry's brother, Brandon (C. Brandon Crocker), also offered his services. By early Spring 1982, the California Review had received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS as a non-profit educational organization, and received a seed funding commitment from the Institute for Educational Affairs (now called the Madison Center for Educational Affairs).
On May 24, 1982 (or a few days before) the premier issue of California Review, featuring an exclusive interview with Neil Reagan, arrived at UCSD. This famous issue was frequently quoted, and more frequently misquoted, so the California Review overnight became known as racist, sexist, elitist, ageist, and homophobic. [1] The next week, the Music Department evicted the California Review from its office, claiming a sudden need to use the space.
The paper continued to receive support from the IEA and the editors raised much of the paper's budget by delivering speeches to local Republican Women's and Pro America chapters. At its peak in 1985, the California Review had a paid circulation of approximately 400 people in 40 states and on 4 continents. Milton Friedman, George Will, Jack Kemp, Arthur Laffer, Alexander Haig, Jack Wheeler, Pete Wilson, and George Gilder all agreed to give the California Review exclusive interviews. The paper was modelled in style along the lines of the old The American Spectator, complete with woodcut drawings and etchings, many of which were found by Brandon Crocker searching through copies of the 19th century magazine Frank Leslie’s Popular Monthly, which he stumbled across in Central Library. Tom Edwards, who joined the staff in 1983 and served as assistant editor in 1983-84, helped to obtain some of that year’s big interviews (Jack Kemp, Alexander Haig, and then U.S. Senator Pete Wilson) through his political contacts.
The A.S. government continually refused to give the California Review any of the funding it allocated to "Alternative Media." The campus Left even organized a special campus referendum to keep the A.S. from funding the California Review.[2][3] In addition, the California Review was continually refused office space. After filing a law suit in Federal District Court the California Review was issued a preliminary injunction against the university, and shortly thereafter the university settled out of court and gave the California Review office space. The A.S. later approved $864 in funding.
After 1985, the paper went into a downward phase. The last of the founding members, Brandon Crocker, graduated. Chris Alario, famous for travelling to Nicaragua and visiting a Contra training camp, took over at the start of 1985-86, but left after only a few issues. Leadership at the paper became unstable as editors-in-chief came and went after only short tenures, (no editor-in-chief would serve an entire school year until 1988-89). Among the editors to serve during this difficult period, keeping the paper alive with small staffs, were Peter Moons and Kurt Schlichter. William Eggers took the helm in 1988 and worked to improve the quality of the paper and reinstituted much of the original format. These improvements continued when Brooke Crocker became editor in 1989 and brought back the long-dormant tradition of the feature interview, including Robert Bork and Milton Friedman.
The California Review's editorial staff consists of University of California, San Diego undergraduates. The Editor-in-Chief is chosen by the staff in the spring quarter for the following year. The Editor in Chief then designates positions for the California Review and its staff.
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